Page 42 of Duchess By Accident
An odd emotion Adrian almost thought was pain flitted across the other man’s face, but it was gone too quickly for him to be sure. “Yes. My sisters Olivia and Marie are married, with growing families. Both Rose’s sisters are married now as well. Sometimes it is hard to keep track of all my nieces and nephews.”
“Do they visit often?” Adrian knew that they did—it had been in the dossier Mr. Kember had given him on Natalie—but it seemed polite to ask.
Duke Emberly gave him a look that told him he knew exactly what he was doing. “There is rarely a day that goes by that they are not visiting us or we are not visiting them. When we are all together, I tend to hire extra staff. Our numbers seem to grow near daily. And I am sure they will continue to do so.”
Adrian nearly choked on his whiskey as the Duke gave him a knowing look. He was unsure if Natalie had told her brother the full extent of their agreement and had not thought to ask her. When he had proposed it to the Duke, he had not given him all the details though he had not implied it was a love match either.Perhaps I should have been more clear about the nature of our relationship.
The embarrassment spread and a stab of irritation went through him. He would not usually be bothered by such an implication, but for some reason this felt different.
“I was talking about Emily. She is expecting.” The Duke gave Adrian an innocent smile that was the exact match of Natalie’s.
“Of course you were.” Adrian replied rubbing his chest.
“I have always thought Natalie would make a good mother.”
“She does have a way with my daughter, Melody.” Adrian agreed.
“She is an only child I take it?” The duke asked.
“Yes.”
The Duke nodded and Adrian decided to move the conversation to safer ground.
“You said you had business nearby?” Adrian canted his head towards the other duke. “What was it?”
“I thought you were supposed to know everything.” Duke Emberly grinned at him, reminding Adrian of Natalie. “I was visiting one of Lord Bolton’s women.”
Adrian furrowed his brow, imagining a library in his mind and going through the book labelled Bolton. “That would be Marjorie Green and her son Gregory?”
“Yes. We were finalising the details of her case.” Duke Emberly shook his head. “Given the machinations he put my sister through, it is hard to believe he has been so sloppy.”
“He is used to getting what he wants. A man like that has little regard for servants. He counted on the fact that they would be powerless to move against him. After all, few magistrates would believe their word over his.” Adrian’s mouth twisted in disgust.
When he had first approached the women, they had refused to believe that he would help them. It had taken a great deal of convincing to earn their trust.
“But they have letters from him! Some of them he was stupid enough to seal with his own mark.” Duke Emberly made a disgusted noise.
“Yes, but how many of them would believe they could stand up to a man like that? Half of them did not even know where to start when I met them.” Adrian gritted his teeth. “He is not a pleasant man. He broke many of those women. He delights in it.”
Duke Emberly winced. “I dread to think what he would have done to Natalie.”
“She is strong.” Adrian shrugged, but a stab of anger shot through him as he imagined Lord Bolton trying to break Natalie. “She might not have broken beneath his fury.”
But he remembered the way Lord Bolton had glared at her, the venom in his eyes. The thought of him hurting her made Adrian’s blood boil. A sudden urge to break something filled him, and he had to consciously loosen his hold on his glass.
Duke Emberly clenched and unclenched his hand. “I am glad we did not have to find out. I will always owe you a great debt.”
“That debt has been paid.” Adrian made a dismissive gesture.
“Nonetheless, you have my gratitude, Duke.” Duke Emberly frowned. “This is the problem with spending time with another duke. You end up calling each other duke and the whole thing gets rather confusing. And it feels bizarre to call you sir, even if it is correct.”
Adrian smiled. “Then what do you propose?”
“You may call me Emberly. We are brothers now after all.”
“I suppose we are.” Adrian nodded. “Very well, you may call me Blackwood.”
Emberly clinked his whiskey glass against Adrian’s and drank the last measure.
